THE ANTI-HOLLYWOOD FILM

By: B -- 10/5/04

Writing a review for The Motorcycle Diaries is not fun. It would have been ideal to discover something in the film that no other reviewers have unearthed, but I regretfully have to agree with the press. This documentary-style film is as good as advertised, and the buzz including words such as “Oscar-worthy” is completely justifiable. And though I thoroughly enjoyed this account of revolutionary Che Guevara, I was not looking forward to the prospects of writing this review. Why bestow such praises on a film already recommended by more qualified individuals?

The Motorcycle Diaries , set in 1952, is a glimpse into Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s life as a 23-year old, when he was a medical student departing for an innocent road trip with his biochemist friend Alberto Granado. He and Granado set out from Argentina on Guevara’s rusty motorcycle with hopes of finding perspective, experience and women. While the boys begin the trip with wide-eyed optimism on the times they’ll have, their trip slowly evolves into a life-changing experience. What they find while traveling through South America is a society rife with an unjust and dangerous social class system. In The Motorcycle Diaries, we see the beginning of Guevara’s evolution from a well-to-do medical student to a jaded public servant, a man who would soon become the infamous leader of the Cuban revolution.

Though this movie contains a script, the style with which it was shot gives the feel of a documentary. The beautiful scenery of South America was captured with the jumpy realism of a handheld, and there are no formalistic choices used. No zooms, no distracting camera angles, no flashbacks. Much of the credit can go to director Walter Salles, but the acting by Gael Garcia Bernal shouldn’t be overlooked. His performance as the calm, passionate Che lends a boatload of credibility to the realism of this film. Instead of taking the easy way out and showing Guevara as the cartoonish communist that he is sometimes remembered as, Bernal gives him a soul.

While The Motorcycle Diaries packs a lifetime of cultural education into its 126 minutes, the pacing may leave some viewers restless. A movie with a natural feel like this can leave much to be desired in terms of action. Combine this with the subtitles and the small cues required to completely follow the storyline, and the outcome is a film not likely suitable for every viewer. Are you a big fan of action films, of big budget comedies and the Hollywood template? Don’t go see The Motorcycle Diaries, for this film is not up your alley.

Though their eye-opening experiences with social injustice become the most important takeaway of the film, not a whole lot of time is spent on it. The Motorcycle Diaries naturally glides between the bonding of two friends and their life-shaping incidents, wisely steering clear of the preachy nature evidenced in most biopics. It’s a simple concept, really: in 1952, two friends leave the comfort of their families to take a road trip, and a camera documents their experiences. That’s it.

52 years later, one continent north, a young writer of the same age as the film’s Che deems a mundane column to be one of life’s biggest bummers. The harrowing experiences by Che and Ernesto put a silly complaint like that on the back burner and prove that, even though their situations are far from similar, the importance of perspective is universal.

POP RATING: 6

CRITICAL RATING: 9.5

B'S RATING: 9

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